____ This is a repost of my original write up about using mines in PVE. However it was very long and it was recommended by many that I break it down into more digestible chunks. So I have broken it into five sections.
____This is a link to my original post: I can understand why peeps thought it was too long, but this is/was my first attempt to post anything of significance here. So my apologies to the community. http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/sh...d.php?t=851741

Please note a few things:1____I know there are a lot of people here on the forums that know a LOT more than I do about ship builds, weapons, procs, bonuses, combos, etc. This information is offered as is. I've actually done all of the things I'm going to be talking about with varying levels of success. I can do enough damage to contribute to the team, I can survive most situations, and, most importantly, I think it's a fun bird to fly.

2____I am not, nor have I ever tried to say that this is the best ever build for ESTF's or any other PVE. But I didn't throw this together last week, run a few ESTFS, make up a bunch of statistics, and then decide to write a book about the magical pill I'd just discovered. I grind dilithium with this build. I regularly get upper tier rewards. I rarely die. I have fun. I'm not special. I'm not a miracle worker, prodigy, or hacker so anyone can do this.

3____This isn't and never was intended for PVP use. While I have used mines in PVP (just to see how they do) opposing players are usually too smart to walk into them, outrun them, or they have BFW or CSV going and the mines get destroyed before they do any damage. They might be helpful if you fly with a fleet and your team is good at creating fur-balls where mines will go unnoticed until they strike. But otherwise this is just for PVE. Specifically ESTF's.

4____When I refer to BOP's I'm also referring to escort class ships on the fed side. Although IMO, BOP's actually make slightly better mine layers because the battle cloak compliments the mines nicely. On the flip side, the Fed escorts have better healing and durability and the Feds have cloaks I've just never used one on that side.

5____While I am in a fleet I'm usually playing pub ESTF's. So I have to rely on myself for survival. So you can do this alone. But if you have peeps you fly with regularly you can make even better use of this.

____This is SECTION ONE of FIVE: General thoughts. If you've read this and want to know more I will be posting Sections 2-5 as well. A reduced table of contents will be in all five sections.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>*<<<<<<<<<<<<<<TABLE OF CONTENTS:

>>>>>>>Section ONE<<<<<<<General Thoughts

What ships should use mines?What powers/items compliment mines best?Kinetic consoles, why you don't need them.Why use mines at all?

>>>>>>>Section TWO<<<<<<<Mine types: The pros and cons of the few that I use or have tried.

____Azure Nebula
____Infected: the Conduit
____Khitomer Vortex
(I have not done a guide for the Cure Found. If people actually read this guide and find it useful, I will.)

>>>>>>>Section ONE<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>*<<<<<<<<<<<<<<WHAT SHIPS SHOULD USE MINES?
____I only use mines when I can use DPBeta III. So you must have a Commander level tactical officer. You can use Beta II but you lose a lot of damage (25%) taking that one step down.
____I only use mines on ships that have the speed and turn rate to move in on and get away from a target quickly, and (once at min safe distance) turn again to put your forward facing weapons back on your target. You want to end up facing the same side you dropped your mines on, so that you can focus your fire on the same shield face. So turn rate is important.

____I have used both of the builds linked here with success and little difficulty. The only difference in strategy is the battle cloak which allows the BOP to be more aggressive with bigger targets.

____I don't use mines on cruisers because I can't use the Beta 3 and I can't turn or move fast enough. You can use mines on the cruiser but they are usually only for rear defense or holds. (tractor beam, chroniton, web)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>*<<<<<<<<<<<<<<WHAT POWERS/ITEMS COMPLIMENT MINES BEST?
____This is one area that I'm absolutely sure that there will be LOTS & LOTS of folks who know better than me what items, consoles, or item combos will compliment mines. But as I noted above, you don't have to max this out to use it, and the less you specialize it, the more universally it can be used.

____I only use DPBeta 3. It gives you a web of fourteen (14) regular mines or four (4) Tricobalts. If used properly, these will hit a single target all at once or in quick succession. Beta II isn't bad but you can only deliver one of these big hits every 30 seconds or so and you give up 25% of your spike damage going from level 3 to 2. That can be anywhere from 15 to 40K lost per hit.

NOTE:____I've never tried DPAlpha. In some cases it doesn't give you as many mines. And it lays mines in a path, so they won't attack the same target at once or even in quick succession. This reduces their spike damage potential. If the mines hit in quick sequence, the 12th, 13th, & 14th mines will be taking advantage of the damage done to the shields by the previous mines. Or if they hit all at once, you get a big damage spike. DPAlpha doesn't give you that.
____If you're running tractor beam mines on a cruiser you could equip DPAlpha 1 or 2 and leave a trail of cloaked tractor beam mines behind you to keep those pesky escorts from flying circles around you. But I've never tried it.

____Evasive maneuvers is essential. Attack pattern Omega also works well. Polarize Hull is another one. Any power that frees you from tractor beams and/or gives you the ability to get out of trouble quickly works.
____The more powers you can carry that give you this type of bonus, the more often you'll be ready to make a run with the confidence that you won't be trapped on the way in or out. This is especially important on the exit, since you'll have your back to your target for a short while.

____You can get doff's that reduce your mine cool-down. There's no need to try to max out the cool-down reduction unless you can reduce your DPBeta cool-down as well. (Aux2Bat maybe)

____You can get doff's that reduce your EM cool down. If that's the only escape power you have, it would be worth your while to make it ready as often as possible. If you're running an Aux2Bat or need the doff slots for something more critical, you can live without them.

____The Klingon honor guard set gives a 25% bonus to torpedoes only so no help there. Mine is MK XI.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>*<<<<<<<<<<<<<<KINETIC CONSOLES: (Why you don?t need them.)
____You might think that you'd want tactical consoles to boost your mine damage, but I don't use them. While the mines give you the ability to deliver a number of big hits, you're still going to be relying on your forward facing weapons to deliver as much DPS as possible. And you need that DPS to remove enemy shields. So you want to maximize the damage of the weapons that you'll be using all the time.
____Also, IMO, the Tricobalt mines, when used at the right time, deliver such a big hit that I don't feel they need a damage boost. (If you're using plasma weapons w/plasma consoles you might increase the plasma dmg of plasma mines as well, but I don't know that for sure.)
____Then there's the fact that, depending on the scenario, you may want to carry different kinds of mines and/or swap mine types depending on the ESTF you're going into. Which is going to mean a lot of console swapping between rounds when/if you decide to change mine types. I find that tedious. I prefer builds that can be used generically. So once again, if you use the mines wisely, no kinetic consoles are required.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>*<<<<<<<<<<<<<<WHY USE MINES AT ALL?
____The BOP's have a lot of up front weapons that are capable of putting out decent DPS, but they are limited by the three tac consoles. And they have fewer weapons overall. Mines give the BOP's the opportunity to deliver spike damage, build a defensive wall, and IMO act more strategically than otherwise would be possible.
____Also, BOP's generally depend on mobility to survive. That mobility can keep you alive, but it usually means you can't keep all of those forward weapons on your target 100% of the time. And time is always a factor in ESTF's. The mines allow you to keep moving and still deal big damage.
____An added bonus is that mines don't use any weapon power. Thanks to twam for pointing that out. I hadn't even considered that.
____To be perfectly frank, I was completely bored with sitting in one place grinding away at slow moving targets that were always in the same place. I was looking for a new, more active, way to play. It's a little bit more dangerous, requires more thought & awareness, and it's nice to be able to go toe-to-toe with a cube alone and survive in a tiny bird. Those 5 digit damage numbers are a nice bonus, but ,IMO, it's just fun to fly.

I'm going to recommend that this, and its related posts, be moved to the Academy since this seems like more of a Player Guide?

tggrinc PM me if you want it moved. No guarantees that it won't get moved anyway.

Oh, and you might want to put links to the other sections in it.

Volunteer Community Moderator for the Star Trek Online forums -- My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. If you wish to speak to someone on the community team, file a "forums and website" support ticket here, as we are not able to respond to PMs regarding moderation inquiries.Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek

FYI... If enough people find this helpful, these can be moved to the "Player Guides" sub-forum and stickied.

Volunteer Community Moderator for the Star Trek Online forums -- My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. If you wish to speak to someone on the community team, file a "forums and website" support ticket here, as we are not able to respond to PMs regarding moderation inquiries.Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek